Loveless: Reach for the Unreachable
by Kouya-chan
Summary: Ritsu's found a new pet to replace Soubi: a girl by the name of Tsukiko. He grooms her to become one of the best Fighters, and pits her against her predecessor. She hates being used, but it doesn't seem like she can help it.
1. Chapter 1

The whip bit into her back, scoring across the tender marks already there. Its target let out a hiss of breath through gritted teeth, tears welling from her eyes. Her hands, against the wall, curled into fists.

"That's pain. Know it. Embrace it."

"Yes…"

Another stroke, another line of blood, like the stem of a perfect flower, etched into her skin. She bit her lip from crying out, but couldn't resist a soft, low whimper.

"Are you alive?"

"Yes… Ritsu-sensei."

"How do you know?" Again the whip lashed out.

A hoarse reply. "The pain, sensei."

He stepped back with one foot, assessing his work, an art critic reviewing a new piece. Then he deftly folded the whip around its sleek handle. "All right. We're done."

Her shoulders slumped in relief, and, as though the supports holding her up had been removed, dropped to her knees. Her fingers sought the smooth, comforting material of her discarded shirt and gathered it to herself in a semblance of concealment.

"Of course, Soubi-kun never made a sound."

She refused to take the bait, remaining silent and not looking at him. He was trying to goad her, to make her hate Soubi, and as much as she tried to deny the fact, it was working. She hated his guts with a passion she'd never felt for anything. Agatsuma Soubi… so damn perfect. Ritsu's favorite, his pet. She couldn't compare. But she showed no reaction, and was rewarded with the soft exhalation that was as close as he would get to a sigh.

"All right, Tsuki-chan. Go ahead and clean up."

Tsukiko rose and bowed, still facing away from him, and left for the bathroom attached to his apartment. He must have been getting frustrated, she thought, concealing a slight smile.

Ritsu watched her go, a faint smile playing about at the corners of his mouth. He removed his glasses with one hand, and brushed his hair out of his face. Exactly like he'd thought she would behave. She was learning.


	2. Chapter 2

She hated Ritsu-sensei's bathroom. Hated the stark emptiness of it, the uncovered bare bulbs above the large mirror, the blandness of the sink and faucet. Most of all, she hated the way she looked with her face red and swollen from unshed tears reflected in the mirror. Hated her weakness, her imperfection. _Soubi wouldn't have cried,_ she thought bitterly, and hated herself even more for it.

A large roll of gauze and a tube of ointment sat side-by-side on the counter, where they always were. Tsukiko ignored them, instead splashing water over her face and counting silently. At seventeen, Ritsu entered.

He picked up the ointment with long, slender fingers, a butterfly ring on one of them reflecting the light. She watched, mesmerized, as he unscrewed the cap and squeezed a large amount into the palm of his hand. It was the same thing that always happened. Then he looked up at her with a lightly impersonal gaze. Without a word, she turned around, and allowed him to spread the stuff across her newly acquired wounds, a process that she kept a straight face throughout. His hands were surprisingly gentle, tracing the lines they had made. Soon the pain had receded into a dull ache, and she didn't have to grit her teeth so hard.

When he had finished, he uttered the first words since she had entered the bathroom. "Gauze, please." She took the roll off the counter, pausing for a second to admire it before passing it over her shoulder. It was so pure, unsoiled, as few things she touched seemed.

Delicately he wrapped around her entire torso, from an inch below her arms to just beneath her navel. Tsuki caught her breath at the tightness. When she realized she had done so, she deliberately let it out, rinsing herself in the mild pain it caused. This pain she controlled, but she should be able to control all of it. Opening her eyes, she met his quietly pleased gaze in the mirror and glared. But it was only for a moment before she turned away and reached for her shirt, sliding it over the bandages.

It was silk, collared and button-up, a man's shirt of light blue, slightly too large for her. Something so normal seemed alien to her in Ritsu-sensei's bathroom, as did her jeans. She blinked, staring briefly at them as she realized that she had been wearing them the entire time. They just suddenly seemed so out of place.

Her brown eyes turned up to meet his, and she smiled for the first time, dazzlingly. She was accepting what had happened, accepting it into herself and making it a part of her. At least, so she told herself. Their meeting was almost over, and she was about to reenter the rest of the world. Ritsu smiled back, more gently. Then Tsukiko spontaneously covered the space between them and hugged him. He seemed surprised, then hugged her back and lightly kissed the top of her head, between her ears, which tilted down slightly in embarrassment.

That called her to the fact that her hair was in complete disarray. Releasing her teacher, she turned back to the mirror and removed the clip from her dark brown hair, which dropped to barely brush her shoulders. The light in the bathroom brought out a reddish hue, and she frowned, as she'd tried to wash out the highlights several days ago. But the smile came back with a shrug, and, with Ritsu watching in a kind of amused fascination, she pulled it into an artistically disarrayed ponytail. She turned her head in a few different angles before silently pronouncing it satisfactory and clipping it.

Then she headed for the door of his apartment, pausing at the threshold to turn back and, seeing that Ritsu-sensei was leaning against the bathroom door's frame, waved. With a cheery "Bye!", she grabbed her military green backpack off the floor and was out the door in a seeming whirlwind of happiness.

Slowly he shook his head. What a difference from Soubi. It took him a few seconds to remind himself why he had chosen her, but he did remember. She would be a great Fighter someday.


	3. Chapter 3

The instant Tsukiko left her teacher's apartment, though, her face fell, and her stride lost its bounce. _Great. Back to the real world._ She almost wished that she could just stay with Ritsu, even with the training, but then she realized that Masaru couldn't follow her there. Even thinking of him, she relaxed. Everything was okay so long as he was there. But he wasn't in the school with her.

She envied him his semi-normal life. He was in his last year of high school, getting ready to go to one of the most prestigious universities. Masaru was planning on studying a foreign language, particularly English, or game design. He was teaching her a few of the words he knew in other languages, which was fun.

Ritsu's Tsuki-chan, though, was in her last year of junior high at a very selective school. It was so selective, in fact, that it took no one but Fighters. Not that the average person on the street knew that little piece of information. Somehow, though, they tracked down potential Fighters when they were in elementary school and went about convincing their parents to send them to the school, offering prestigious courses, teachers and scholarships as incentives. Few adults could turn all that down. And it was a boarding school, no less. No need to pay for transportation or food. Her own parents hadn't been able to resist it. A resigned look briefly crossed her face at that thought, much like a shrug.

The school's complex was huge and modern, with lots of steel and smooth, light wood. Large windows brought light and a sense of the outdoors into almost every room, in addition to the smooth transitions of outdoor and indoor corridors. Classrooms, dorms, offices- all laid out in a seemingly random style, but once gotten used to, one that made perfect, flowing sense. She greatly admired the architect, but hated the school itself.

The one other thing she liked was the lack of uniforms. That made students want to come, and their parents were assured nothing inappropriate was allowed, but that they were modeled after the best Western schools. So she got the freedom to wear what she wanted. But even with that, it didn't balance out.

Sure, life was unfair. That much she understood. But why did it have to be so unfair against her? Couldn't it be unfair with her for once? So she thought as she pulled open the heavy wooden door to the class she was supposed to be in.

As Tsukiko stepped inside, the teacher didn't pause in his lecture, only glanced at her for a moment. He was saying something about the history behind a certain kanji character. The students, on the other hand, almost all turned around to see who had come in. When they saw her, though, they mostly when back to whatever they had been doing. Of course, before that, they either shot her a glare or leaned over to softly comment to a friend with a look in her direction. Holding her head high, she pretended not to notice and instead waited respectfully at the back in a semblance of listening, brown tail twitching boredly.

In reality, she was seething. She knew what they were saying, stuff like 'Ritsu's favorite' and how she thought she was better than them. She craved to shout in their faces, "Do you think I wanted him to pick me?!" But a lot of good that would do. They just couldn't understand. You didn't refuse Ritsu-sensei. It was as impossible to consider doing as trying to swim across the Pacific. She wished, just for a day, Ritsu'd take one of these idiots into his confidence. Then they'd see.

Finishing his speech, the teacher, who was an older male, instructed the class on some activity in their workbooks and headed back to his desk. Tsukiko moved too. As he sat down, adjusted his glasses, and looked at her, she bowed. "Sorry, Sensei. Ritsu-sensei summoned me."

He coughed softly, into his fist, then gestured at her with his pen. "All right, Hayashi-chan. Go sit down."

She bowed again, and returned to her seat, ignoring the looks of the people she passed. Nimbly she stepped over someone's foot, strategically placed so as to trip her, not looking up at the person. The way her ears swiveled back was the only sign of her annoyance. But she plotted. Who was he? Takahashi Hanzo. Weightless. While removing her workbook from her backpack, she smiled, a tiny, hidden hint of a thing. The next time they mock-dueled, he might find himself being her opponent. Then she'd return the favor threefold.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone returned to their work, Tsukiko included. There were a few afterthought-like glances her way, but she ignored them. They were beneath her. After checking the assignment written on the board, she pulled out her textbook and notebook, opening them to the correct pages. Then, under the guise of finding a pencil, she dug through her pack and pulled out her cell. A quick glance at the display confirmed it: a missed call from Masa.

Futiley trying to resist, a slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as her thumb flashed out and typed a few quick letters. Then she flipped it shut with a satisfied snap. What time was it? She looked. Why did her sessions with Ritsu always drag on when she wanted them to be short, and were short when she wanted them to be long? It was like he read her mind. And now she had almost four hours left until she could meet with Masaru. Happiness warred with frustration as she returned to her work. Who really cared about this crap, anyway? The homework was pointless. She'd pass the test whether she studied or not.

About an hour later, the bell rang for the blessed subject: lunch. For the last five minutes, she'd been packed and staring at her watch, watching the seconds tick away. As soon as the first chimes had reached her ears, she was out the door, sailing down the hallway at a half-run. She paused to grab the generic bento off the cafeteria a la carte line and punch in her number, then hurried out to the connected courtyard.

It wasn't too big, sandwiched in the center of the rectangle of the science wing, but it had green grass, trees, and benches to sit on. There were flowers planted all around the perimeter, no doubt class projects on heredity or plants. Bypassing the metal benches, she dropped down onto the grass and hurriedly assumed a lazy pose, like she'd been waiting a while. Tsuki was just in time, too, as she'd only started to unwrap her lunch when her ears caught the sound of hurried feet and labored breathing, then a muffled curse. A grin dawning on her face, she said in bored English, "What's your problem? You guys are so slow."

A boy and a girl, both older than she, dropped into the grass across from her with tired smiles. "You're just too fast, otaku," complained the boy in the same language (for the most part). He wore baggy clothes, and his hair was light brown and shaggy. Tsuki had run into him one day after school at an art festival, and the upperclassman had adopted the smaller girl. They were always competing to see who could outdo the other, in anything. They both knew that he was gay, but the topic had never come up between them.

The other girl was dark-haired and tall, with equally dark eyes. She was David's twin sister, and went by Kali. Good-natured, but a little quiet, Kali was extremely close to her brother, and thus to his friends. Tsukiko had helped her with her work once or twice, too.

They looked out for her, and in return she helped them as best she could, and made them laugh. The strange thing about the pair was that their Sacrifices were both younger, and bitter rivals. Typical grade-school boys. But Kali and David went through a lot of pain when their masters butted heads, and as a result tried to avoid the other when they weren't in school. For their own reasons, unknown to her, they'd never told their other halves about their twinship. She often wished there was something she could do, but knew it didn't concern her. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Yeah, well..." She shrugged, then shifted back to Japanese, taking on a mournful expression. "You take so long, David-sama! Do you not want to see me anymore?" With her fingers she drew a the shape of a heart on her chest. "My heart is breaking."

He looked back at her, equally wistful, and looked as though he was fighting for the right words. "Well, you see, Tsuki-hime... I'm seeing someone else." He had switched languages as well, only slightly less fluent in this tongue. Avoiding her eyes, he reached into his own backpack and pulled out a small paper bag, then began to rummage through it.

Her eyes widened, and in a shocked tone, she exclaimed, "No! Surely you wouldn't do that to me!" Gently she bit her lower lip and looked down. "It can't be..."

"I'm sorry." He found what he was looking for and began to unwrap the packaging. "Her name is Suzie. And she's..."

"What?"

"A... peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"Noooooo!" Tsukiko's hands flew out and snatched at the food in his hands, but David pulled back just in time, holding the sandwich high above her head tauntingly. She tried to knock him backwards, but he just held her off and took a huge bite of the subject of their disagreement. Kali burst out laughing, dropping half of her own lunch on the ground.

She retreated in a pouty huff and turned her back to him. "Fine. Be that way. See if I care."

He just laughed and continued to eat. "So, what's up with you today?"

"I'm ignoring you. Can you see the blantant ignoring-ness radiating from me? Is it obvious enough? Can you taste the cruelty of my ignorance of you?" Still turned away, she began to eat her bento.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry." He rolled his eyes, and when she didn't move, let out a sigh. "Fine! Fine, you ungrateful otaku. Here." The boy broke off a piece of his sandwich and held it out to her as a peace offering.

Immediately Tsukiko spun around and snatched it from him, stuffing it in her mouth with a glare. "Don't call me that, you asshole."

She was immediately flattened by something large and heavy, and could only lie stunned on the ground for several seconds. When her head had stopped spinning, she lifted herself off the ground and was nearly KO'd again by the sheer fury behind twin glares. Kali held a textbook of some sort in her hands, and looked ready to use it. "Who taught you to swear?" the older girl asked in a quiet, deadly tone.

With wide eyes, Tsuki cringed back from the wrath of her friends, and pointed hesitantly at David. "He did!"

It was his turn to move away when Kali swung her glare around to her brother. "Did not!" he protested, then looked sheepish. "Well... maybe. But I didn't actually teach her!" He was subsequently decked as well.

By this time, everyone in the courtyard was staring at them, especially at the shy Kali. But as soon as her head turned toward them, they were again hunched over their lunches. She turned back to her friends. "Okay. You." One finger pointed directly between David's eyes. "No swearing around innocent minds." Neither of the other two could resist a snicker, but she ignored them. "And you!"

"Yes, ma'am?" The girl chirped cheerfully.

"If I catch you repeating what the foul-mouthed one says ever again, you'll get worse than that."

"Yes, ma'am," she repeated, looking properly subdued this time. When Kali busied herself with her food, David and Tsukiko exchanged glances of mutual exasperation before going back to their own lunches.

"So, I'll repeat my earlier question. What've you been doing today?" He decided that it was a good idea to change the subject.

Licking a grain of rice off her finger, Tsuki thought. "Well..." Then she decided to just tell him, nonchalantly. "Nothing much. Session with Ritsu-sensei this morning. Oh, and some punk tried to trip me."

Her friend looked up sharply, opening his mouth to say something, then thought better of it. He knew her well enough to know that she would take care of it herself. A moment later he found a better reply. "Yeah, I've got a chem test tomorrow that I'm not sure how well I'm going to do on. Going to be pretty busy tonight, but I'm going to find Jiro after school." David quirked a single eyebrow, knowing how much it annoyed the younger girl, as she couldn't do it.

She knew what he was asking, and smiled. "Masaru already texted me-"

"Hey, the bell rang!" Kira interrupted, motioning to the already-moving students around them as she rapidly gathered the remains of her lunch. Hastily Tsukiko did likewise, then waved a quick goodbye as she headed off in the opposite direction for more school. Only a few hours left, now. And then freedom.


End file.
